Title: Call Me Ginevra

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own any characters except those you can't research on the lexicon and aren't mentioned in the books. The plot is my own. Any resemblances to other plots are pure coincidence. Think about it this way, great minds think alike.

Full Summary: The war has the Weasley's worried about poor little Ginny. After checking her resources McGonagall claims she has the best caretaker for Ginny. Too bad it turns out to be Narcissa Malfoy. While at Malfoy Manor Ginny faces growing up, a strict regiment and Draco on a day-to-day basis. Can Ginny and Draco brave the unknowns of friendship? Will the buds of relationship form? What will Harry do when he finds out that only Ginny holds the key to defeating Voldemort?

Pairings: Draco/Ginny (I guess this sort of answers the "buds of relationship" question in the summary, huh?)

Rating: Eventually M, but pace yourself. (I will give fair warning of the chapters which that rating applies.)

Chapter Note: This chapter starts the day after the Ball. The last part has very little dialogue but please don't just skim (I say that cause I'm so guilty of it…) You won't get the full affect of the scene without devoting attention to all of the little nuances and such.

They were just too happy weren't they? Well, I thought so anyway…

Author's Note: Okay so here's what happened, finals week and lots of stress. Anyways, as p.s. to the chapter note: don't hate me please.

Chapter Fourteen: Departure

Ginny stabbed her eggs with her fork.

Why Lucius had to come home and ruin her day was beyond her, but he had done so and now sat to her right at the dining room table as they ate their breakfast. Draco casually glanced in Lucuis' direction then continued to eat. Ginny was in awe at his ability to sit at the same table with someone he loathed.

Ginny dabbed her mouth with her napkin and reached for her drink.

"I assume Ginevra's lessons are coming along?" Lucius' cold voice shocked Ginny for a moment into leaving her hand hovering over her glass for a second before picking it up. Looking to Narcissa she waited for the woman's reply.

"Of course." Narcissa nodded, eyebrow raised.

Ginny lifted her glass and cautiously took a sip. Why was Lucius so concerned about her lessons? They didn't effect him in any way and it wasn't as if she were important to any endeavor he might be involved in. She hoped.

"Good." Lucius nodded his approval and took to eating in silence once more. Breakfast ended and Ginny was dismissed before her lessons. Draco had been ordered to meet with Lucius so Ginny went to the garden.

She had made a plot for herself in the back of the garden next to the greenhouse. She had already filled her small patio box with pansies for the winter and needed more room to fully test her green-thumb. Smiling to herself she pulled open the door to the greenhouse, a squeak coming from the rusty door hinges. Small clouds of dust erupted where she removed the items she needed: hand shovel, watering can, gloves, hand held rake, and the flats of begonias she was going to plant.

She walked to her plot which she had cleared of any weeks before she had gone away to America. It had since been dotted with the pesky growth and sitting down with a sigh, feet beneath her bottom; she pulled them up and cast them aside. It was a rather relaxing procedure, gardening. It allowed her for once to disappear from the world around her, though since she and Draco had become a pair life in the Manor seemed much more tolerable. They had found themselves prone to scuffles on occasion but not any that lasted for a terrible period of time, usually ten minutes before one decided to call off the insanity and they reconciled.

She had finished planting her pansies when the door out to the garden slammed with unexplained rage. Jumping in the fear that it could be an attack she armed herself with the nearest took: the hand held rake. Waiting for her attacker to surface she wondered whether she had enough time to go for her wand. Her fears, however, were dashed when the rather unhappy form of Draco came into view.

She was about to ask him what was wrong when his eyes met hers and she knew no good news could come of this. Dropping her gardening device and discarding her gloves she barely had enough time to look up before she was pressed firmly to the nearest flat surface (the greenhouse wall) and was kissed harshly. As Draco's lips pulled back from her she had no time to ask questions when his mouth covered hers in another assault.

Things went on like this until he had her relatively disheveled, shirt unbuttoned, and flushed to her tippy toes, Pulling back he avoided her eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. "Draco, what's wrong?" She asked, brows knit in worry.

Draco exhaled deeply, lips pursed and jaw clenched. She had never seen him like this, so caught up in his emotions. He was usually calm and collected, in control of his emotions and easygoing. Now he seemed to suffer from a rage that made him unable to speak and meet her eyes. "Ginny, tell me you love me."

Ginny, taken aback by his demand nodded before registering that he wanted a verbal confirmation. They had been fairly open about the l-word and freely used it when they were in private. It wasn't to say that they were in love, but that they cared deeply for each other and had a strong attraction to each other. Ginny though couldn't help but wonder which love he wanted her to confirm at that very moment.

Regardless, she couldn't help but wonder as well if she didn't truly love him. He would be her first and she did believe that there was more than one out there. Meaning that if she and Draco did part ways later on down the line, it wasn't like he was her one and only. He would just be one of the greats. The thought of this made her nauseous though, and she decided to drop the thought of her and Draco not being together.

Pressing her palms to his heated cheeks, she left a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you Draco Malfoy." She whispered and knew that in some way she really did mean it in the way they meant it in fairy tales. He really was extremely compatible for her, they enjoyed being around each other. He made her feel like no other boy could and quite frankly it scared and excited her all at once.

Draco pushed for another kiss and finally he pulled back. She wondered if an explanation would follow. And it did.

"Ginny, Lucius is sending me off to Death Eater training on the first of next month."

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Ginny watched as Lucius ate his food with ease at dinner that night. It disgusted her. Narcissa was at her wits end. Ginny had barely recognized the woman during their lessons today. She had been uncollected, stuttering, forgetful and finally had to cancel lessons for the day. From how she appeared at the dinner table her rest did little to soothe her frayed nerves. Ginny could only imagine how she must feel, so close to death but about to be so far from her only child.

To make matters worse, Narcissa was against the whole Voldemort thing in the first place. She had been paler than usual the whole day and avoided any talk of politics. Whenever Lucius had mentioned it at the beginning of dinner, Narcissa went into a slight coughing fit which silenced all conversation for the rest of the meal.

So there they sat, Draco staring at his food with such fury that it might set on fire at any moment. Narcissa, shaking but trying to appear composed. Lucius, calm, cool, and collected as per usual. And Ginny, so stunned that all she could do was go through the routine she had remembered for dinner. After at least half of the foot on everyone's plate was gone dinner finally ended and Draco pulled Ginny up to his room from the hallway.

Laying her down on the bed beside him, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his body. "Let's not talk tonight, let's just lay here." Usually at nights they would alternate rooms in which to lay and talk or snog or… other things. But tonight it was understood that the nearness of the other's body was enough to speak a thousand words.

"I'm scared." Ginny finally said after a few minutes. She couldn't keep quiet with all of these questions raging inside. After Draco had given her the news he hadn't exactly divulged every detail of the decision right then and there. In fact he had dropped it entirely and left her in the garden alone. She knew he hadn't meant to walk away from her, that he needed time to think, but it still left her horribly ill to her stomach.

There was a silence from behind her, Draco breathing deeply into her hair. "Me too." He whispered, holding her so tight she thought she might not be able to breathe. She could feel his hands trying to stay gentle around her but tensing with his quiet thoughts. She knew he was thinking about what was to come because she was tortured by those very thoughts. She had no idea what Death Eater training meant and she didn't like the ideas her brain came up with for substitute.

Ginny, unable to handle not knowing what to expect, turned in Draco's arms. His eyes were so dark and distant from her that she wondered if this was even Draco. She had always known him to be calm, someone who always knew what was going on around him. But now, he finally looked like someone with something to lose.

She brought her thumb to his bottom lip and ran it across the rosy flesh. Smiling lightly, trying to lighten the mood, she began to play with his hair as she often did. She would let him be distracted even if it meant he wouldn't explain to her exactly what was going on. But they had a month and there was still time left for him to tell her. She wouldn't press it, she knew what it was like to feel hopeless and afraid.

She doubted though, that his time at Death Eater training would in any way compare to her arriving at the Manor.

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Ginny sat at the top of the staircase listening to the tempest roaring downstairs. She knew eavesdropping was unladylike but quite frankly it was the only way she was going to be able to get any information at all in this house.

It had been three weeks and Draco still hadn't muttered a word about what training would do to him or what he would have to do. Anytime they were alone he just held her in his arms and avoided talking altogether. It was as if he was trying to avoid admitting it to himself, but that wouldn't help either of them when the time finally came. She had to know what to expect when he got back. She had to know if she was still going to have Draco.

It didn't help that she had heard terrible things from Order members about what people had to do to become a Death Eater. Apparently they had to perform all the unforgivables, one each on Muggles. They couldn't be a virgin (which he had covered so it wasn't like he had to go throwing himself at anyone). They had to go on one of the Death Eater attacks and of course, had to accept the Dark Mark.

How much of this was true and how much was purely speculation, she didn't know. But she did know that anything similar to it was just as bad.

A crash resonated up the stairwell and she sighed, pushing her forehead into her knees. Narcissa and Lucius had forgotten to close their bedroom door and were having it out about Draco leaving.

"I will not have him go!"

"And exactly what say do you have in the matter?"

"I'm his mother!"

Another crash. "And I am his father and in charge of this family! You will not disagree with me and he will go. He must prove himself to the Dark Lord after his failure with Dumbledore. We were only so lucky that Severus was there to pick up the slack. Imagine my disgust when my own son couldn't even do something as simple as kill an old man."

"He was a boy! He's still a boy! Lucius don't do this! Give him more time to experience his childhood!"

"He's not a boy anymore Narcissa. After this he will officially be a man and there will be no question of his loyalty. Until he completes this training he will be questioned and suspected. I cannot have that of my own flesh and blood."

"And what if he doesn't want to follow the Dark Lord?"

Ginny knew immediately that Narcissa hadn't meant to say that at all. It was followed with a long silence and finally the door slammed. She knew Lucius would put a charm to silence any noise that could seep from beneath the door and quite frankly, Ginny didn't want to hear what she was sure would happen. Narcissa would pay dearly for her insinuation.

Fearful that Draco may befall the same fate if Lucius thought he had shown Narcissa his disloyalty to Voldemort, Ginny sprinted across the Manor to Draco's room. Beating furiously on the door she called out his name until he opened it. He had been dressing after a shower and still had a towel around his neck.

"What is it Ginny? Are you alright?" She couldn't waste time being smitten with how worried he was about her and launched herself into his arms.

"Oh, Draco! I overheard Lucius and Narcissa arguing about the whole training thing and Lucius said you had to prove you were loyal to the Dark Lord. Narcissa said what if he doesn't want to follow the Dark Lord and then I couldn't hear anything but what if Lucius thinks that you've said something to your mum? Draco, Lucius may come after you next!"

The news didn't seem to startle Draco but he knit his brows in confusion. "Overheard? Lucius can never be overheard, what were they arguing in the middle of the hallway?"

Ginny frowned. "Well, no, they were in their room but I-"

Draco frowned. "Were you eavesdropping on them?"

Ginny sighed with frustration. "Draco, you won't even talk about it and I've been worried sick over this. It was going to be the only way I could get any information at all, alright?" She begged him with her eyes to forgive her and after a moment's consideration he wrapped her in his arms to show he had.

"I just don't like thinking about it, much less having to explain it to you." He whispered against her hair. She caught herself reveling in the feel of his body against her, the smooth skin stretched across his muscled back and the way he shivered when she dragged her fingertips down his spine.

"I know you don't. But you can't leave without telling me what's going to happen. I can't just figure that out on my own and Draco… I care too much about you to just let it go. I need to know that you'll be okay or you won't… I need to know who's coming home to me after all of this."

Her words proved many points and he nodded. He exhaled through his nose and motioned for her to sit on the bed. He stood in front of her, hands on his sides as he stared at the floor.

"I will be taken to the Death Eater stronghold. I have no clue where it is but I hear it's an awful place. They have a lot of Muggles held up there and I have to perform the unforgivables on three of them to prove I won't hesitate to do it later." Ginny saw all of her worst fears coming true right before her. So everything the Order had heard was right.

"Then I've got to practice day in and day out on fighting skills, dueling, potions, things like that to make sure I'm up to par with aurors and whatnot." He cringed at the next thought.

"What is it?" Ginny leaned forward, wanting to know what was so painful to think about.

"I should be there for six months or so."

Ginny couldn't breathe. The tears quickly welled up in her eyes and she shook her head. "Six months!?" She cried out. Draco was next to her within a second, holding her to his chest.

"That's why I want to forget I'm going."

Ginny finally let herself drop the subject, understanding that this was something best left to the last moment. At least, that would be better for Draco. Ginny would have loved to talk about it, plan ways to make it not happen, but she also knew that the more it was in the forefront of their day-to-day activities the more it tortured Draco.

What Ginny needed to do was be a welcome distraction from the inevitable fate of her boyfriend.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling the rising and falling of his chest, the warmth of his body, and the muscles of his abs pressing against her diaphragm. He felt so good right here in her arms and for a moment she played with the idea of never letting him go. Of course she knew that was just a dream and the only thing she could do was wait until the time came for him to leave. Until then she would just have to make the best of this bad situation.

"I want to show you my garden." She said, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

They made their way to the plot she had next to the greenhouse. It was covered with a variety of different colored blossoms and grasses. She started explaining each of them, their necessary sun exposure, how big they got, what they could do in potions and things like that. Every once in a while she would look over at Draco to find him studying the plant she was talking about but somewhere else in his mind. It was as if he had turned off his thought process and put his body on autopilot.

She knew her mindless ramblings about which flower did what and what it was called in three different languages wasn't an actual conversation. It was like white noise that let Draco tune out of the world and just be comforted by the sound of her voice. She began talking about the medicinal purposes of helbit, a purple grass that laid flat in the sunlight but stood straight in the shade, when she stole a glance at Draco.

He was poking the ground with a stick, his eyes glazed over with nonexistent thought. He looked so beautiful like that, not trying to come up with things to say or arguing with her. It was odd that when he hid from the world around him in the solace of thoughtlessness he seemed the most serene. His jaw was slack and his lips almost parting. His eyelids hung heavy on his icy irises, covering them up halfway. He had stopped wearing gel per Ginny's request and the strands of shoulder length hair that were normally obediently brushing his neck were blowing about his face in the wind.

With a sigh Ginny continued on with her explanation. She had to for his sake.

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They continued on spending hours in the garden at a time, Ginny repeating herself every day over the different uses and information on each plant. Draco was consoled in the fact that he was spending time with her and she was talking about something she was passionate about, Ginny was consoled in the fact that Draco was able to dismiss the moments in the future and disappear from the present all at the same time for a while.

It wasn't until four days before his scheduled departure from Malfoy Manor that Draco started to talk about his leaving again. He would gaze at Ginny for a few moments, causing her to blush under his eyes then ask her if she'd remember him when he was gone. She'd raise an eyebrow, mutter about how ridiculous the question was, then detail to him how little time she would have to think about anything other than him.

Smiling he would draw her into his arms and they would lie down on the bed, curled up next to each other. Draco would sometimes drift off to sleep but Ginny never could. She would always lie away thinking about what would happen to them when he left. She knew it was silly to think of the Death Eater training like going away to school, but part of her was scared he would meet another girl there or conform back to the ways of "Weasley's are evil and poor and should die".

The day before he was supposed to leave Draco and Ginny found themselves in each others arms again, lying on Draco's bed beneath his covers. Draco lay with his left arm behind his head, slightly on his side so he could see Ginny. His right wrist rested on his side as he let her gently caress him as she was prone to do.

Ginny was on her side, right arm beneath the pillow she was resting her head on and left hand operating gentle ministrations on Draco's bare chest. Ginny had begun a habit of changing into his silk pajama pants and a t-shirt before crawling into bed with him whereas Draco had routinely worn cloth drawstring pants and no shirt.

As Ginny's hands trailed across Draco's chest, his eyes traced her features to remember them. She had hazel eyes like chocolate with honey, dark red hair like rubies had been liquefied and molded into a wig. Her jaw was set in concentration as she tried not to go over the same place on his skin more than once in a three second period and her eyelashes fell across her cheeks in her intent gaze.

Her nose was straight, with a soft curve at the tip so she lacked the sharp jutting features Draco had himself. Everything about her was soft and rounded and organic. Her body curved at her shoulders, her breasts, inward at her waist and out again at her hips and thighs. He reached out and ran his free hand down her side, memorizing how long it took to come out of the groove of her thin waistline.

Smiling he pulled her close to his body and just as quickly as it had shown up, that smile was gone. Closing his eyes tightly, he moved his other arm and wrapped both around her body. "Ginny, you'll be the only thing keeping me going there."

Hot, wet tears dropped onto Draco's chest as Ginny started to convulse with quiet sobs. "I wish I could hide you from him. I wish I could save you from this."

His heart throbbed painfully. He knew what if felt like to have someone you loved be in pain and not be able to help. "Gin, it's not your responsibility to save me from this. This is something I've got to do."

With a sob which was meant as an inhale, Ginny pulled away to look into Draco's eyes. Where his were clear and dry, hers were already fogged over with tears and starting to get bloodshot. "How can you say that? You don't even want to go!" She sniffled, trying to stop crying but unable to. She hadn't cried in front of him to make sure she didn't remind him of his fate. She had instead waited until he was asleep and snuck back to her room to drench her pillowcase in a new batch of tears at night.

"I know." Draco frowned, the weight of the situation forcing its way into his stomach. He had run from reality for too long and it was starting to catch up to him. Maybe Ginny had been right, maybe they should have talked about this a long time ago. He ran his hands up and down her arms trying to soothe her. "It's just, if I say no then my life is more at risk than it would be if I went. If I go it's not like they'll kill me. At a time like this every man is valuable to him."

Ginny knew he wasn't talking about his father anymore but she had nearly beheaded Draco for mentioning his name while they were in bed. It just wasn't appropriate pillow-talk.

"I'm not so worried about you losing your life anymore, I realize you're important." She paused, trying to figure out how to say what it was she felt and feared. For so long she hadn't been concerned with bringing these issues to light, but now that they had been forced onto the table she struggled with the words to say. "I'm worried about losing you."

Draco frowned further but this time in confusion. "What do you mean? You just said you knew I'd come back alive."

Ginny looked away, flushed from her bout of tears and struggling to explain things to him. "Like I said, I'm not worried about losing your life…" She sighed. Looking back, her eyes twinkling with the emotions bursting inside her, she forced a small smile. "I'm worried about when you come back. I don't want to lose you while you're away and when you come back you're not who you were when you left. Or, maybe you are and I'm just not… in the plan anymore." She finished almost at a whisper.

Draco watched her try to compose herself for a moment before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into an intense kiss. His lips massaged hers as he let one hand play with her hair, twirling the curls around his fingers. His kiss read more than just passionate attraction; it was blind need and connection. Pulling back, Ginny's lips were plump and parted as she looked up into his eyes. "You can't lose me Ginny, because there's no way I could live without you."

Another round of entwined physicality passed and they both fell into light slumbers, dreams evading them with such a dark event almost at fruition.

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Ginny had awoken that morning to an empty bed and a room almost empty. Most of Draco's personals were packed up in trunks stacked in a corner of the room. She thought to herself how glad she was she had slept through the packing; she would have burst into tears and not been very helpful.

Draco was gone, probably finishing business with packing or talking with Narcissa, so Ginny went back to her room to shower and dress. She spent thirty minutes just letting the water fall on her back as she wandered alone in her thoughts. It felt like a dream, like she would wake up and it would be a month ago and none of this would have happened. But she knew better.

She got out of the shower and dried her hair, putting on just a bit of makeup for the day, not wanting to waste time making herself look good for the three hours Draco might still be at the Manor.

She walked into her cold room and dressed, the chill not affecting her numb senses. Her emerald green sweater dress seemed oddly cheery for the occasion but she knew Draco had loved it when she first wore it. The least she could do was show him off looking how he would want to remember her as. She wrapped her waist in a thick black belt and froze before fastening it. She reasoned that if she never got done getting dressed, then he would never leave. That in order for time to start up again she would have to complete her look. But if she stayed there, lost in the moment then he would stay in the Manor.

She bit her bottom lip to fight the tears already welling behind her lids. She knew better.

Belting up and pulling black leggings on underneath the mid-thigh length sweater, she pulled on black boots and grabbed up her wand before leaving her room.

In the hallway Draco was leaning against the wall across from her door waiting. He probably had come back to his room to find her gone and assumed correctly that she was changing. His eyes widened perceptibly at her and he trailed the lines of her figure with his eyes. Pulling her close, hands sliding around her waist and down to the small of her back he left a longing kiss on her lips.

Hands together, fingers entwined, they made their way down the hallway, Draco occasionally glancing over at Ginny, Ginny occasionally forcing her breathing to calm so she wouldn't cry.

They took a long walk around the garden, made small talk, avoiding the subject of his leaving. They stood in the ballroom and Draco asked Ginny to dance. They embraced long after the nonexistent song was through and finally when a house elf came to get them, they made their way to the foyer where Narcissa was barely holding it together and Lucius was smirking proudly. Ginny took her place by Narcissa and waited with a furiously beating heart.

Draco turned first to his father who patted him on the shoulders and dove into a speech about how honorable men went to training and came back as masters of their lives. Ginny's cheeks twitched with each sneer she had to hide. She stole a glance at Narcissa and seeing the woman on the verge of tears reached across the inches between them and behind the closure of their clothes, grasped Narcissa's hand in hers.

Narcissa kept her composure but Ginny didn't miss the sharp inhale and clenching of her jaw. Narcissa's hand gave a squeeze in return and possibly the two most important women in Draco's life stood beside each other providing the strength for one another they both direly needed.

After Lucius' rant, Draco went to Narcissa and hugged her, Narcissa barely able to put on the air of happiness in front of Lucius. She left a kiss to Draco's forehead and forced a smile onto her thin, pale lips.

Draco turned to Ginny and for once her heart sank with realization. They could not embrace in a like the lovers they were, they could not show any affection of the sort in front of Lucius. Lucius had remained blissfully unaware of their relationship and what proved to keep them safe inside the Manor was now the curse that kept them from running to each other, kissing, and whispering their goodbyes.

Instead Draco swallowed harshly, jaw clenched so tight Ginny wondered if his teeth would shatter. Ginny clenched and unclenched her fists as her sight went misty. Draco slowly approached her took her hand in his. At angle that Lucius couldn't see, Draco ran his fingers between hers, leaving quick kisses on each of her knuckles. She gasped lightly but not enough to draw notice to their secret moment.

Narcissa had moved to Lucius' side and was trying to distract him. Successful in doing so, she was able to keep him from seeing Ginny's lips form "I love you" or Draco return it.

Draco's hand fell away from Ginny's and they stood there for a split second, lost in the magnetism between them that threatened to throw the two together against their will. Draco stepped away, realizing that if he didn't leave soon he might never. Turning once more to his parents he nodded and with an almost unnoticeable sweep to gaze at Ginny once more, he was gone through the doors of Malfoy Manor.

Ginny waited in the foyer while Lucius escorted Narcissa upstairs and stayed there as she watched Draco be taken by carriage off the property. With the location of his destination so secret he had to apparate off Malfoy property. Ginny watched the black dot that was the carriage until she wasn't sure if she could still see it or not. Then, with control she didn't know she had, she made it her room and closed the door before crashing to her knees and crying for the rest of the night.